descisco

dē-scisco, īvi or ĭi, ītum, 3, v. n., orig. a publicist's t. t. to free one's self from a connection with any one, to withdraw, leave, revolt from, = sciscendo deficere; and with an indication of the terminus, to desert to, go over to any one (class. prose).

I.

Prop.:

multae longinquiores civitates ab Afranio desciscunt,

Caes. B. C. 1, 60 fin.; so,

ab aliquo,

id. ib. 2, 32, 2; Cic. Phil. 11, 9, 21; Liv. 6, 36; Nep. Alc. 5, 1; id. Dat. 5, 5; Just. 5, 1 fin. et saep.:

ad aliquem (opp. a nobis deficere),

Liv. 31, 7; cf.:

Praeneste ab Latinis ad Romanos descivit,

id. 2, 19;

and simply: ad aliquem,

id. 26, 21; Front. Strat. 4, 3, 14 al.; cf. pass. impers.:

quibus invitis descitum ad Samnites erat,

Liv. 9, 16; and Flor. 3, 5, 6.— Absol.:

cum Fidenae aperte descissent,

Liv. 1, 27; 21, 19; Tac. H. 1, 31; Suet. Caes. 68; Nep. Tim. 3, 1; id. Ham. 2, 2; Front. Strat. 1, 8, 6: Stat. Th. 2, 311 al.—

II.

Transf. beyond the political sphere, to depart, deviate, withdraw from a person or thing; to fall off from, be unfaithful to:

a nobis desciscere quaeres?

Lucr. 1, 104:

a se ipse,

Cic. Att. 2, 4, 2:

si Cicero a Demosthene paulum in hac parte descivit,

Quint. 9, 4, 146:

cur Zeno ab hac antiqua institutione desciverit,

Cic. Fin. 4, 8; so,

a pristina causa,

id. Fam. 1, 9, 17 Orell. N. cr.:

a veritate,

id. Ac. 2, 15:

a natura,

id. Tusc. 3, 2:

a disciplina,

Vell. 2, 81:

a virtute,

id. 2, 1:

a consuetudine parentum,

Plin. Ep. 3, 20, 4 et saep.:

a vita,

to separate, sever one's self, Cic. Fin. 3, 18, 61 (opp. manere in vita).— Pass. impers.:

praecipiti cursu a virtute descitum, ad vitia transcursum,

Vell. 2, 1.—Stating the terminus, to fall off to, decline to; to degenerate into:

ab excitata fortuna ad inclinatam et prope jacentem,

Cic. Fam. 2, 16; cf.:

ad saevitiam, ad cupiditatem,

Suet. Dom. 10: in regem (i. e. to degenerate, be transformed ), Flor. 4, 3:

in monstrum,

id. 4, 11.—

B.

Of subjects not personal:

quis ignorat et eloquentiam et ceteras artes descivisse ab ista vetere gloria,

Tac. Or. 28:

(vitis) gracili arvo non desciscit,

does not degenerate, Col. 3, 2, 13:

semina,

id. 3, 10, 18.